Observing: A Phenomenological Approach

Abstract

I sketch an analysis of observing as a particular attitude one can take regarding the surrounding world. I stress some particular features of observation, like the cancelling of the vital engagement in the world, and the delight that pure observation involves. Then I move to a description of figurative consciousness and its image-world. In the final part, I try to show how watching movies displays a new type of observation, based on the empathic connection with the characters, the emergence of a virtual body, and a self-decentered life, where the ego is not an onlooker, but something like an "in-looker".